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And then the best off road vehicle ever was born - the 40 Series 'Cruiser

In 1955 Toyota introduced the 40-series Land Cruiser which included several models and engine selections. The 40-series lineup had a short wheelbase FJ40 which came in both the soft top and hard top model. Then there was the middle wheelbase FJ43 which also had a hard top and soft top option. Then there was the FJ28, considered part of the 40-series, it had a soft top, a hard top and a light van model.

Officially the FJ45V was the model name for the van type with a gas engine. There was also a pickup model produced for export. One of the significant changes for the 40 was the straight body panels, rather than curved, which made the vehicles much more roomy inside. Both the front and rear bench seats had room for three people. The FJ40V was created to have a hard top extension of the panelling on the soft type.

In order to reduce the top-heavy nature of the vehicle, resinous materials were used in the roof instead of steel. The higher roof was intended to increase visibility both out of the back windows but also out of the rear corner windows. This unique styling proved very popular, even to this day.

The FJ43 had features that took comfort into account such as the 3-speed manual transmission on the column and a 2-speed transfer case lever on the instrument panel. This provided enough floor room so that 3 people could fit on the bench type passenger seat.

The 40-series was also intended to retain the tough Land Cruiser image but to add passenger-car features. The top of the line LX grade BJ42 had a crash pad on the dash to protect passengers in a collision. Added to that was a tachometer, a digital clock, interior panelling, carpets and even zebra pattern seats. The FJ43 had a 145mm longer wheelbase than the FJ40 which allowed for extra room to be used a luggage compartment at the rear. The rear gate also opened out from the centre with a lower half made from steel.

In North America the 40 series is the most widely modified version of the Land Cruiser. The diesel model was only sold in Canada and coupled with the torque of the 3B 4 cylinder engine made an excellent off road vehicle. The gas 6 cylinder was not well known for power or good gas mileage so many FJ models had their engines swapped for a V8 providing more power and in many cases better gas milage than the Toyota 6 cylendar.